A government minister accused the chairman of the independent Rwanda Media Commission of working for foreign forces. And then the government embarked on moves to weaken the commission. When the RMC head was tipped off about plans to kill him, he fled the country in May.

Zambia’s president Michael Sata who died last week was unremarkable in leadership credentials in the short period of his rule. His attitude towards media freedom and freedom of expression exposed his authoritarian streak.